Collingwood is top entrepreneurial community in Canada

Ontario leads the way with four of the top 10 most entrepreneurial cities in the country

Toronto, October 17, 2016 – Collingwood is king when it comes to Canada’s most entrepreneurial communities with populations of about 20,000 or more, topping the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’ 2016 Entrepreneurial Communities report launched today to kick off Small Business Week.

Ontario has a strong showing in this year’s report, with four communities among the top 10 in the entire country. The top 10 entrepreneurial communities in Ontario include (with their Canadian rankings in brackets):

Collingwood (1)

Toronto periphery, approximating the “905” (5)

Barrie (6)

Cobourg (10)

Guelph (12)

Leamington (22)

St. Catharines-Niagara (43)

Windsor (51)

Kawartha Lakes (52)

Peterborough (57)

“CFIB congratulates these municipalities for their tremendous leadership in helping to create the right environment for entrepreneurs to succeed,” said Julie Kwiecinski, CFIB director of provincial affairs for Ontario. “These strong communities have been particularly inviting to new business creation, growth, and prosperity.”

The report takes an in-depth look at how 121 cities/economic regions support and promote entrepreneurship. It scores each of them out of 100, using 14 indicators across three main categories – Presence, Perspective, and Policy.

“It’s a great tool for communities and business owners to gauge what’s working and what’s not when it comes to laying the groundwork for entrepreneurial growth,” said CFIB chief-economist Ted Mallett. “It’s like a snapshot in time that reflects business confidence and government policies that shape the business landscape.”

To arrange an interview with Julie Kwiecinski or Ted Mallett, please contact Ryan Mallough at 416-222-8022, or [email protected].

CFIB is Canada’s largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses with 109,000 members across every sector and region, including 42,000 in Ontario representing approximately 500,000 employees.